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Abu Dhabi is the latest city aiming to put itself on the contemporary art map with the launch of a new biennial centered on public art next year. The new biennale – known as the Abu Dhabi Biennale of Public Art – is an important part of the Umbrella Program (Abu Dhabi Public Art), which is funded by the emirate’s Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT) with 3500 A package of $10,000. The Biennale will be curated by Reem Fadda, Director of Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation and Abu Dhabi Cultural Programs, and Galit Eilat, an independent curator.
Fadda said the public art aspect will make this particular biennial stand out in a crowded event calendar. “You will walk around the city and admire the art. People don’t understand the work that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism does. For example, there is a ten-year project that involves mapping elements of the city’s modern heritage, from buildings to small cafes to our Old store called an urban treasure.”
The issue of urban permanence after the Biennale is under discussion. “Once we get into permanent projects, that’s a different story, and that also requires certain guidelines and protections,” Fadda said. “We’re not going to suddenly flood the city with hundreds of public sculptures,” adding that discussions will involve “community stakeholders” as well as “government and private stakeholders.”
The aim is for the Biennale to dovetail with other important arts events in the region, such as the established Sharjah Biennale. “The point is we’re definitely building on regional offerings, looking at what Sharjah has been doing or Saudi Arabian cities like Riyadh. We’re trying to complement that.”
Another aspect of Abu Dhabi’s public art is Manar Abu Dhabi, a platform for light works (Manar means “light” or “guiding lamp” in Arabic). Says Fadda: “It’s an annual light platform where various events culminate in a six-week showcase. This particular platform is specific to Abu Dhabi itself as a city. People don’t realize it, but it is An archipelago. People don’t think of Abu Dhabi in these terms. It has such a beautiful natural landscape. It will be a lighting project that reflects the beauty of Abu Dhabi through an artistic lens.”
The third component of Abu Dhabi’s public art includes a series of annual ‘direct commissions’ across the city’s landmarks. “There are some art projects that we specifically want to do in tunnels, roundabouts, on the corniche side, in very public places – those have more permanence to them in terms of direct commissioning,” Fadda said.
Commissions are not awarded to UAE artists individually. “Abu Dhabi has always prided itself on being very committed to the global south, we are very committed to its Emirati artists and its regional artists. But we are also international, we always involve artists from all over the world,” she said.
The unveiling of Abu Dhabi’s public art exhibition will mark the waves, a public digital media work by Seoul-based art collective a’strict, will be located near the cultural foundation. “It’s basically a wraparound screen that shows you the waves crashing against a closed glass showcase. This whole side of historic Abu Dhabi opens up to the Corniche. We think it’s a piece of work that started as a public art beautiful work.”
A project statement said the push to create a broad contemporary art platform in the emirate was driven by the state, which saw the potential to “support the entire creative industry through public art”.
“There’s a new kind of governance to the whole program. The government budget is committed to that. The idea is really to build on everything that’s been going on to create a strategy to have a bigger impact,” Fadda added.
She also highlighted that over the past 14 years, Abu Dhabi has been “quietly shaping and promoting” the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which is due to open on Saadiyat Island in 2026. “I participated in [the Guggenheim] Over the past 14 years, a contemporary art collection has been built. Public art biennials and larger public art initiatives are top of the list. “
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